Steve N

Just a quick explanation. The "Norman" guy is ThePantomTwo's son, and my step-son. Mandie my wife, and ThePhantomTwo's ex. I know it's a bit weird, but we all seem to get along. SN

Yep..it was from Norman. Mystery solved! I wonder if anybody makes S.H.I.E.L.D. decals for that kit...

Mandie suggested the same thing..I'll PM him. SN

- duplicate post - SN

I'm just concerned that there's somebody out there eagerly awaiting a (probably expensive) kit that ended up with me by mistake. SN

..not only did I not order it, but I've never heard of the sender, someone named Masato Azuma in Toyama, Japan. On a hunch I checked Facebook..found four people by that name, none of whom appear to be modelers. Masato San got my name and address correct down to the five-digit zip code, but as I said I've never heard of the guy. I wonder if I should send him a letter to see if I can clear this up. BTW the kit is a Hasegawa 1/72 F-35A..looks nice, but not really my genre. SN

It may be a typo..Hyperscale has a build-up of the forthcoming F4U-4, and it's definitely based on Revell's recent -1 kit, despite NOT saying "new tool." It wouldn't surprise me if the 1/72 Spit II is the old kit I built several of back in the 70s. After all Revell re-popped their abominable 60s-vintage P-51-ish monstrosity just a couple years ago. SN

..which from all I've read is still a darned nice kit, just maybe a little underdetailed by today's standards. In 1/72, I assume the F4U-4 is based on their recent new-tool F4U-1, although it could be a re-pop of the old Matchbox kit. I also wonder about the Spit II..is it a re-pop of their venerable old tooling from the 70s, or a new tool (which would be hard-pressed to beat Airfix)? <edit> Looks like the Spit is labeled "New Tool," (again I wonder why they bothered) while the F4U-4 is not, leading me to believe it's the old Matchbox kit (a surprise, since the parts breakdown of Reve

Like Silver1 says, I wouldn't be surprised if there were still some F4Fs kicking around Stateside training units long enough to be painted GSB. I haven't been able to turn up any photos, but that doesn't mean anything. SN

I don't like the new "negative" color scheme on the TIEs..black structure with white panels. Just looks "wrong" to me. But then I hate the new rectangular antenna on the Falcon as well. Didn't diminish my enjoyment of the movie though. SN

..but the late war combat Wildcats were FM-2s, a very different animal from the F4F-4. SN

We left Oshkosh, WI early this morning heading home to Michigan. Drove right into the teeth of the monster in Chicago. After two hours of white-knuckle driving through sleet and freezing rain at 30-40 mph, we decided to pack it in and get a motel. Felt a little silly to stop when we're mor than two-thirds of the way home, but better a live chicken than a dead duck! Temps are supposed to rise overnight, so hopefully the roads will be thawed by morning. SN

I took in a second viewing a couple days ago, and in view of the criticism in this thread I paid special attention to the music. I thought it was pretty good, and I've got the original trilogy soundtracks memorized (to the point that I instantly recognized the music cue when Rey first makes her stand against Ren with Luke's lightsaber was taken straight from Ep.IV. Specifically the point when Luke swears vengeance on the Empire after finding the mesquite-grilled remains of his aunt and uncle.) One point made above I do agree with..why did Phasma cave so easily? In fact, after she casuall

We also see that Fin is "strong with The Force," and despite being trained as a stormtrooper since early childhood, he still retains a moral conscience that forces him to desert after his first battle. I wonder if there will be some revelations about his ancestry in future films... Overall I quite enjoyed it. Some things I thought could have been better, but those are more subjective personal preferences than objective criticisms. I more or less expected Han to die in this one. Harrison Ford had campaigned to have him killed off in the first act of Return Of The Jedi after all. I was hop

My comments on the lack of character development weren't intended as a criticism per se, just an expression of my personal preference. No movie is going to live up to anyone's expectations, and that's multiplied exponentially for a Star Wars film. I enjoyed it, and plan to see it again. Any criticisms I have are relatively minor, and come down mostly to my own preferences and opinions. I like that they left a fair number of unanswered questions..sets up the next film nicely. One of the biggest complaints I always heard about Empire was the lack of a proper ending, but people forget that t

I've seen a few of these pop up on my newsfeed..I think they're cool. But then I also follow the "Egg Plane Masters" Facebook group. SN

I feel just the opposite. I think JJ's Trek films are terrible..just mindless shoot-em-ups with none of the deeper more intellectual side that has always defined Trek. SW on the other hand has always been about swashbuckling action, melodrama and fun. I think he struck just the right tone with this one. I still think Empire is far and away the best of the entire franchise, and of course Ep.IV will always be my favorite just because I first saw it as a wide-eyed 13-year-old. I loath Return of the Jedi (not because of the Ewoks, but because it's just a terrible movie all around) and the pre

Just got back, and I have to say this is the best SW film since Empire. I agree with most of the points others have posted. Same basic framework as IV? Yep. Predictable, right down to the "surprises?" Of course. But then that's to be expected..this is an attempt to revisit the best of the original franchise while laying the groundwork for the new. I did like the fact that the original trilogy characters (including the Falcon) weren't just awkwardly tossed in as glorified cameos, but were important, integral parts of the story. There were lots of little "tips of the hat" to us old fanboys

We're planning to catch a matinee next Tuesday when Mandie and I both have the day off. I'm cautiously optimistic..the original came out when I was 13, and my friends and I were Star Wars obsessed through our teen years. I just keep telling myself it can't be as bad as the prequels. I'm not a blind cultist either..I loathed Return Of The Jedi from day one. It was just a hot mess of poor writing and recycled material to wrap up the trilogy as quickly and with as little effort as pissible.

Iliad Decals has released a couple of decal sheets of "celebrity" planes. I have the set that has Jimmy Stewart's B-24, Clark Gable's B-17, and several oothers. One of the sets has Gene Roddenberry's B-17 SN

So I just wwatched "A Wish For Wings That Work," and my inner-rivet-counter kicked in. There's a clip from the old movie "Lost Horizon" and Opus refers to a Douglas DC-3, when the plane is clearly a DC-2. ;) We also usually watch "Christmas Vacation" every year. I think everybody can find something to identify with in that one. SN

I was going to mention that one..a personal favorite. I figured I was the only one who remembered it, as it only aired once, in 1991. I found the whole thing on Youtube last year and burned it to DVD. SN

Well, I just bit the bullet and upgraded my desktop from Win7 to 10 this afternoon. So far other than some differences in the graphic style here and there I haven't noticed much difference..honestly I was expecting a much bigger change, and a massive headache trying to figure out a new interface. However as suggested earlier in the thread I did the "custom" install, and turned off most of the built-in data mining "features" as well as most of the location-based stuff geared to mobile devices. SN

The article didn't have a lot of detail. Was this aircraft in the water and sunk by during the attack, or shot up on land and then the remains dumped in the ocean. SN

Maybe it's because I've had a headache all day, but when I saw the title of this thread I thought it was a spam for a migraine cure! SN